Apple Said to Prepare Thinner iPad Model for Release This Year

Apple is preparing to introduce a new version of the iPad with a thinner design, people familiar with the plans said, as the company works to stay atop the increasingly crowded tablet-computer market.

Apple also plans to introduce a new iPad mini, the first with a high-resolution screen, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the development is private. The new iPad models are set to be introduced in the last three months of the year, one of the people said.

After popularizing the use of tablet computers that blend the functionality of a touch-screen smartphone and laptop, Apple is facing increasing competition from Google, Samsung Electronics, and Asustek Computer.

Apple's share of the market slid to 32.4 percent in the second quarter, from 60.3 percent a year earlier, according to market-research firm IDC. Tablet shipments are slowing in anticipation of new models from the company, IDC said last week.

The planned new full-size iPad, with a 9.7-inch screen, will have a body that more closely resembles the current iPad mini, with a thinner bezel than the current version, said the people. It will be the first redesign since March 2012, when Apple introduced a high-resolution iPad with the shape featured on models currently on sale.

The iPad mini, with a 7.9-inch screen, does not currently have the same high-resolution display that's available with the iPhone and larger iPad.

Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple, declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal previously reported the thinner design for the iPad.

Apple is set to unveil its next iPhone at a Sept. 10 event, one person said. The device will feature an overhaul of the company’s mobile operating system, iOS 7, which was announced earlier this year and includes changes to e-mail, calendar and other applications, as well as new color schemes and icon designs. AllThingsD earlier reported the date.

With the updates for the two iPads, as well as a new iPhone model, Apple is stacking up refreshes for its top-selling products ahead of the holiday shopping season. The iPhone and iPad accounted for almost 70 percent of the company's sales last quarter.

Apple stock rose 2.8 percent to $467.36 at the close in New York. The shares have declined 12 percent this year, compared with an 18 percent gain for Standard & Poor's 500 Index.